A new poll shows GOP Rep. Cory Gardner with a seven-point lead, 46 percent to 39 percent, in his bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado, with President Obama’s sagging approval ratings pulling down the incumbent.
The USA Today/Suffolk University poll signifies a dramatic turnaround from one released five weeks ago that had the two candidates in effectively a head heat in a race crucial to both Democrats and Republicans in the contest to secure control of the U.S. Senate.
Mr. Obama has a 56 percent unfavorable rating and his job disapproval rating is 57 percent in the state.
“As President Obama goes, Mark Udall goes,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “Obama’s unpopularity is significantly affecting Udall’s chances for re-election in November, as his opponent has consistently tied him to President Obama. By the looks of both President Obama’s and Mark Udall’s unfavorability ratings, that message is beginning to stick with Colorado voters.”
Both men have solid support from their respective parties, but Mr. Gardner leads among independents, 44 percent to 31 percent. The Republican has also erased a gender gap from the last survey in a race where Democrats have placed a heavy emphasis on abortion and women’s issues.
Real Clear Politics’ latest average of public polling on the race has Mr. Gardner with a 4.4-point lead over Mr. Udall. But Democrats say their unseen get-out-the-vote operation in a state that broke for Mr. Obama in 2008 and 2012 will ultimately push Mr. Udall across the finish line.
The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted Oct. 18-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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